Arrangement for a game playing device

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for a game playing device comprising a game playing apparatus which controls a prize delivering machinery (10), a feeding device (7) for a token (8) for starting the game playing apparatus against a payment, and a tuner (11) controlling the prize delivering machinery. The tuner improves the odds and the chances of winning a prize from a normal state in response to the operation of the game playing apparatus. In order that the tuner could be restored to the normal state by the player, the game playing device comprises a stop switch (13) which influences the feeding device for starting the game playing apparatus without payment and which is arranged to control the tuner in such a manner that the tuner is restored to the normal state when the operation of the game playing device does not affect the tuner or the prize delivering machinery, so that the player does not win a prize.

This invention relates to an arrangement for a game playing devicecomprising

a game playing apparatus;

a prize delivering machinery controlled by the game playing apparatus;

a feeding device for a token for starting the game playing apparatus;and

a tuning means controlling the prize delivering apparatus so that theodds and/or the chances of winning a prize are improved from a normalstate in response to the operation of the game playing apparatus.

There is a great variety of prior art game playing devices in which theplayer can start the game playing apparatus with a coin or the liketoken usually in order to play the game once. The game playing apparatusmay be a conventional slot machine, in which the player launches a coininto the play panel, trying to pass it through winning ports, or adisplay game known as a fruit game, in which the object is to makerotating drums stop in a position such that the drums together form apredetermined pattern.

In order to make the playing apparatuses more interesting andattractive, it is known to add tuning means to the game playing devicesfor temporarily increasing the amount to be paid out, or extra prizes orbonuses can be connected to the game. The operation of the tuning meansmay be controlled solely by the game playing apparatus, or the tuningmeans may be such as to allow the player himself to influence itsoperation. In a slot machine, for instance, the tuning means may bearranged to give extra prizes or to improve the odds in proportion asthe coin passes through one or more prize-winning ports, so that theplayer gets an extra prize or bonus after the coin has passed throughsuch a prize-winning port a predetermined number of times. In displaygames, the tuning means may be arranged to influence the rotation of thewheels so that the player is able to lock one or more wheels in advancein a certain position in order to increase the chances of winning aprize. After the achievement of the tuning state required by the tuningmeans, the tuning means is released, thus giving the player theadvantage offered by the tuning state, whereafter the tuning means isrestored to the normal state for the next tuning.

In game playing devices comprising this kind of tuning means, it ispossible that the player does not manage to get the advantageous tuningstate released, when he, for instance, runs out of coins or wishes tostop the playing for some other reason before he has been able tobenefit from the improved odds or other advantages offered by the tuningstate. The tuning state will thereby benefit the next player, who hasnot deserved it. It is also possible that when the player goes toexchange coins, somebody else starts to play the game and manages to getthe tuning state released to the preceding player's disadvantage.

The object of the present invention is to provide a game playing devicewhich avoids the abovementioned drawback and in which the player canrestore the tuning means to the normal state. This object is achieved bymeans of a game playing device according to the invention, which ischaracterized in

that the game playing device comprises a stop switch influencing thefeeding device for starting the game playing apparatus; and

that the stop switch is arranged to control the tuning means in such amanner that the tuning means is restored to the normal state when thegame playing apparatus does not influence the tuning means or the prizedelivering machinery.

The invention is based on the idea that the player is given stillanother opportunity to try to release the tuning state or to benefitfrom an advantageous tuning state without payment, whereby hesimultaneously restores the tuning means to the normal state when hedoes not win in the game. In this way, the player is inveigled torestore the tuning means to the normal state himself. As a reward, hegets a free game and still another opportunity to benefit from thetuning state of the game. The player can, of course, press the stopswitch whenever he wants and play the free game and benefit from theadvantages possibly offered by the prevailing tuning state. Thereafterhe may continue either from the normal state of the tuning means orafter having won a prize from the respective tuning state. In this way,the game is considerably more interesting as it is ensured that theplayer need not leave any undeserved benefit to the next player, if hedoes not want to.

The invention will be described in greater detail in the following withreference to the attached drawing, wherein

FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine in which the arrangementaccording to the invention is applied; and

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the operation of the arrangement.

The game playing device shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing comprises a slotmachine 1 comprising a play panel 2, a coin insert 3, a coin launchingdevice 4, actuating means 5 detecting the passing of a cointherethrough, a coin insert device 6, a feeding device 7 for passing acoin 8 into the launching device,

a sensing means 9 for detecting the descending of the coin. A gameplaying device of this type is described in the Applicant's U.S. Pat.No. 4,487,414, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

When playing the game, the player tries to launch a coin from thelaunching device so that it passes through one of the actuating means inthe play panel, whereby he wins a prize associated with each particularactuating means. For this purpose, the game playing device furthercomprises a prize delivering machinery 10 shown only schematically. Theactuating means control the prize delivering machinery only when a coinpasses through one of the actuating means, whereas no prize is deliveredwhen the coin goes past the actuating means or drops down between them.

The game playing device further comprises a tuning means 11 which inthis particular case is represented by six prize increasing lamps 12.The tuning means may operate in such a manner that whenever a coinpasses through one of the actuating means, one of the lamps is lit, andafter all the lamps have been lit, the player gets an extra prize.Alternatively, the operation may be such that when the coin passesthrough a predetermined actuating means, such as the middlemostactuating means, one of the lamps is lit to indicate improved odds. Whenthe coin passes through said one of the actuating means, the prize wonby the player is the higher the greater the number of the lit lamps is.This makes the player more eager to go on with the game. After all thelamps have been lit, and the player manages to pass a coin through oneof the actuating means, the tuning means is restored to its normalstate, and the lamps go out.

According to the invention, the game playing device is provided with apress-button type stop switch means 13 which is connected to control theoperation of the coin feeding device 7 so that the feeding machineryallows one coin in a sequence of coins to pass into the launching device4 when the stop switch is pressed. The stop switch is also connected toinfluence the operation of the tuning means so that the tuning means 11is restored to its normal state (e.g., all the lamps 12 have gone out),if said coin, when launched from the launching device, passes betweenthe actuating means 5, that is, does not lead to any kind of prize oradvantage. If the coin, instead, passes through one of the actuatingmeans, the stop switch means 13 does not any longer influence the tuningmeans, so that the tuning means operates normally. Such an operation canbe achieved by the coaction of the sensing means 9 sensing thedescending of the coins and the actuating means 5. The stop switch means13 is thereby connected to activate the sensing means so that it appliesan impulse to the tuning means in order to restore it to its normalstate if no impulse "cancelling" the restoration is received at thetuning means from any one of the actuating means.

Accordingly, the player gets a free game (coin) by pressing the stopswitch means 13 whereafter the tuning means is restored to the normalstate without affecting the prize delivering machinery if the coin doesnot pass through any one of the actuating means, or continues itsoperation according to its programme if the coin passes through one ofthe actuating means. In the former case, the player can continue thegame normally or, if he wishes, press again the stop switch means 13 soas to get another free game. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing theoperation of the invention. The reference numerals in FIG. 2 indicatethe corresponding structure of FIG. 1 which is utilized in theimplementation of the particular operational steps illustrated. Thepress-button switch means 13 is connected electrically with the coinfeeding device 7 to send a signal A to the coin feeding device 7 whenthe button 13 is pressed. This signal causes the coin feeding device torelease one coin into the launching device 4. The sensing means 9 iselectrically connected with the tuning device 11 to send a signal B tothe tuning device when the sensing means 9 is actuated by a coin. Thebutton 13 is electrically connected to also send a signal C, whichallows the signal B from the sensing means 9 to reach the tuning means11, e.g. by closing a switch. The actuating means 5 are electricallyconnected to send a signal D, which prevents the signal B from thesensing means reaching the tuning means, e.g. by opening a switch.

The drawing and the description related thereto are only intended toillustrate the idea of the invention. In its details, the arrangementaccording to the invention may vary within the scope of the claims.Accordingly, the arrangement can be applied to game playing apparatusesof some other type as well, such as so called fruit games, whereby thestop switch gives the player a free game (rotation of wheels) when hewants to stop playing the game. The stop switch is thereby connected torelease all locked wheel-locking press buttons, if the free game doesnot result in such positions of the wheels that the combination ofsymbols so obtained would give a prize or other advantage.

We claim:
 1. A game playing device assembly comprising: a game playingapparatus; a prize delivering machinery controlled by the game playingapparatus; a feeding device for a token for starting the game playingapparatus; tuning means for controlling the prize delivering apparatusso that the odds and/or the chances of winning a prize are improved froma normal state in response to the operation of the game playingapparatus; and stop switch means for influencing the feeding device forstarting the game playing apparatus and for controlling the tuning meansin such a way that the tuning means are restored to the normal statewhen the game playing apparatus does not influence the tuning means orthe prize delivering machinery.
 2. An assembly according to claim 1,wherein the game playing apparatus comprises: a play panel defining anarea of movement for tokens, and comprising actuating means disposed inthe area of movement and detecting the passing of tokens therethrough;and a launching device at the side of the area of movement for launchingthe tokens into the area of movement, so that the actuating meanscontrols the tuning means; and wherein the stop switch means comprisesmeans for feeding a token into the launching device and for restoringthe tuning means to the normal state after said token has gone past theactuating means without passing through any one of them.
 3. An assemblyaccording to claim 2, wherein the stop switch means is connected to thefeeding device and comprises means for passing a single token into thelaunching device when the stop switch means is activated.
 4. Anarrangement according to claim 3, wherein a sensing means for sensingthe descending of tokens is disposed in the play panel below theactuating means so that the actuating means detection of the passing ofa coin therethrough and the sensing means sensing of the descending ofthe coin influence the tuning means so that the activation of the stopswitch means causes the tuning means to be restored to the normal statewhen only the sensing means influences the tuning means after the tokenfed by the stop switch means has passed through the sensing means.
 5. Anarrangement according to claim 2, wherein a sensing means for sensingthe descending of tokens is disposed in the play panel below theactuating means so that the actuating means detection of the passing ofa coin therethrough and the sensing means sensing of the descending ofthe coin influence the tuning means so that the activation of the stopswitch means causes the tuning means to be restored to the normal statewhen only the sensing means influences the tuning means after the tokenfed by the stop switch means has passed through the sensing means.